Finishing Well

I admit to a certain fascination with King Solomon. I wonder how could someone who the Scriptures call the wisest man in the word finish his life in such a mess. I realize that many aspects of his life are recapitulated in my life and the lives of others. Advantages mean little if they are not followed up by discipline.

Solomon also reminds me that people are a mixture of good and bad, that which works and that which doesn't. He builds a magnificent temple for the Lord, but his own palace is twice as big and just as opulent. He is, perhaps, a captive of his culture as he increases his army and his wives ... because he can and the culture expects it. Sadly, God had warned in Deuteronomy about multiplying horses and wives.

Solomon doesn't follow God fully like his father, David. His final years are lived in seeming comfort but the peace that characterized the early years of his reign is gone. David is a murderer and an adulterer ... yet he never worships other gods. In contrast, Solomon is chastised for his faith that seems so easily diverted. This doesn't excuse David's sins, but it does point out that David continue to have a source to give him hope. Solomon took his hope in his wives and false gods.

1 Kings 10-11